Basement apartment
A basement apartment or basement flat is an apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but also homes and businesses. Cities in North America legally define them as an accessory dwelling unit or "ADU". Rent in basement apartments is usually lower than in above-ground units, due to deficiencies common to basement apartments, which are often cramped, and typically noisy, especially due to passing traffic.[1] They are also particularly vulnerable to burglary, especially those with windows at sidewalk level. In some instances, residential use of below-ground space is illegal, but practiced regardless.[1]
Owning a home with a basement apartment can be an investment, both providing an income stream and adding to the value of the property.[2]
Health risks
Health risks of basement apartments include mold,[3]radon, and increased likelihood of injury or death due to fire. However, risks are reflected in lower rents.[4]
Basement apartment tenants are more likely to be injured or die due to fire.[5][6] Many landlords do not follow fire code regulations, and often such regulations are not enforced by governments.
Flooding is particularly dangerous in basement apartments. When Hurricane Ida passed over the northeast of the United States, most of the deaths were caused due to flooding in basement apartments.[7][8]
In fiction
Ruth McKenney based a series of stories in The New Yorker, later republished in the book My Sister Eileen, on her experiences living with her sister in a moldy, one-room basement apartment, directly adjoining the Christopher Streetsubway station on the 1 and 2 trains, at 14 Gay Street, in Greenwich Village for which she paid $45 a month (equivalent to $1,010 in 2024).[9] The apartment was burgled within the first week during the six months they lived there. The book was later made into a Hollywood movie.
ニューヨーク市グリニッチビレッジのセントルークスプレイス5番地にある地下のアパートは、1966年の演劇と1967年の映画「暗くなるまで待って」の両方の舞台でした。
参照
参考文献
- ^ a b David W. Chen、「どんなに低くても、地下室が家になることが多い」、ニューヨークタイムズ(2004年2月25日)。
- ^ 「Basement Apartment」。Basement Bro 。 2019年3月7日閲覧。
- ^ 「テナントのためのカビ対策ガイド」 。2013年1月1日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。
- ^ Alina Tanasescu、Ernest Chui Wing-tak、Alan Smart（2010年10月）「Tops and bottoms: State tolerance of illegal housing in Hong Kong and Calgary」Habitat International . 34 (4): 478– 484. doi : 10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.02.004 . hdl : 10722/222187 .
- ^アパートメント評価。「地下アパートに住む際の4つの安全対策」。健康と安全。 2012年9月28日閲覧。
- ^ CBCニュース. 「エドモントン住宅火災で1人死亡」 . 2012年9月28日閲覧。
- ^ 「洪水で亡くなった人々について私たちが知っていること」ニューヨーク・タイムズ。2021年9月2日。ISSN 0362-4331 。2021年9月24日閲覧。
- ^ 「ニューヨーク洪水：地下アパートで11人死亡、対策求める」ガーディアン紙2021年9月4日. 2021年9月24日閲覧。
- ^『マイ・シスター・アイリーン』 197ページ。
